Sacrifice of Christ

1. Paul, Grecian Wisdom and the Spirit’s RevelationNo. 9 · 1 September 1868 · 29 min read aloud · Read: 1 Corinthians 2

   Expounding 1 Corinthians 2, the speaker argues that the chapter must be read against its setting: Paul preached Jesus Christ crucified, and the kingdom with him, to Corinthians trained in Greek philosophy, which taught that virtuous men would be saved and that the soul goes to a future state.

2. Christ’s Humiliation, and Salt and LightNo. 18 · 1 March 1870 · 20 min read aloud

   The speaker says the breaking of bread directs the brethren to the sorrowful side of Christ’s life, which brings comfort and courage because he was tempted and suffered as they do, and which gives an example of doing good.

3. Christ’s sorrow, the Supper, and daily ScriptureNo. 28 · 1 August 1871 · 24 min read aloud

   The exhortation begins with the origin of the breaking of bread at the last passover, dwelling on Christ’s sorrow before his death and the comfort he gave his disciples.

4. Law, Grace and Holiness After BaptismNo. 30 · 1 October 1871 · 24 min read aloud · Read: Romans 6

   Starting from Romans 6 and the principle ‘First pure, then peaceable’, argues that law is necessary and good, and that Paul’s saying that the law entered that sin might abound gave God occasion to show grace through Christ, who upheld the law by his death.

5. The Sufferings of Christ in Psalm 69No. 53 · 1 April 1874 · 26 min read aloud

   Taking the breaking of bread as a reminder of Christ’s inner experience in the days of his flesh, the speaker reads Psalm 69 as the voice of Christ in his waiting, his hatred by the world without a cause, his burden of mortal nature, and his zeal for the Father.

6. The Table’s Panorama: Christ Behind and BeforeNo. 58 · 1 September 1874 · 19 min read aloud

   Gathered at the table, the exhortation surveys the Bible story as a landscape coloured with Christ: behind, his birth, ministry, death, resurrection, ascension and the apostolic age, followed by the decline into apostasy and the rise of the Papacy; ahead, his reappearing, the judgment, the time of trouble among the nations and the kingdom of God filling the earth.

7. Faithful Exhortation and the Fear of GodNo. 63 · 1 February 1875 · 20 min read aloud · Read: Psalm 38

   Urges the brethren to keep assembling and exhorting one another daily, noting the restoration of the Spanish monarchy and the Jewish Board of Deputies’ decision on Sir Moses Montefiore’s Holy Land scheme as signs of the Lord’s approach.

8. The Goodness of God: Nineveh and CalvaryNo. 81 · 1 February 1877 · 18 min read aloud · Read: Jonah 4, Hebrews 9

   Beginning with the way the Scriptures never lose their interest, the exhortation takes the two chapters read, Jonah 4 and Hebrews 9, as showing the goodness of God.

9. The Memorial Cup, the New Covenant and BloodNo. 128 · 1 February 1881 · 26 min read aloud

   Beginning with the passover that Jesus kept with his disciples, the speaker treats it as a type fulfilled in Christ, who shared the mortality of those he came to redeem and whose own blood delivers them.

10. The Genealogy of Christ and Our ComfortNo. 136 · 1 December 1881 · 27 min read aloud · Read: Luke 3

    Starting from the genealogy of Christ read that morning, the exhortation says the unbroken line from Adam to Christ helps us to realize that life is short, and shows that Christ is of Adam’s race (needed for him to abolish death by his own death and resurrection) and heir to David’s throne.

11. Ezekiel 20: God Acts for His Name’s SakeNo. 144 · 1 November 1882 · 30 min read aloud · Read: Ezekiel 20

    Taking Ezekiel 20 as God’s own review of Israel’s history, the exhortation says the elders who came to enquire of Ezekiel were rebuffed because they approached without reverence, and that God repeatedly spared a rebellious Israel for His Name’s sake.

12. Wisdom Applied: Seeking Life and Bearing the CrossNo. 158 · 1 July 1884 · 25 min read aloud · Read: Proverbs 8

    Takes the parable of wisdom in Proverbs 8 and says that God’s wisdom is seen in all creation, while human wisdom is the right use of knowledge to secure life, so that a man who lives only for the present is a fool.

13. Why Do We Break Bread? Remembrance and HopeNo. 161 · 1 October 1884 · 25 min read aloud · Read: 2 Kings 5, Lamentations 1, Lamentations 2, 1 Corinthians 14

    Imagining a stranger who asks why the ecclesia meets to break bread, the speaker explains who Christ was, why he died and why he is remembered, and says the weekly meeting renews faith against the passing things of this world.

14. Light from Job, Jonah and HebrewsNo. 175 · 1 February 1887 · 27 min read aloud

    Taking the morning’s three readings as the “words” of God that give light, the speaker finds in Job a rich man who used wealth faithfully and a pattern of patience toward God in unexplained trouble, which God uses to teach dependence and which is the preliminary discipline of those who will inherit the kingdom.

15. Life Without God: Darkness Needing the LightNo. 179 · 1 June 1887 · 30 min read aloud · Read: Ecclesiastes 3

    The exhortation takes Ecclesiastes’ “a time to be born and a time to die” as a reminder of mortal birth, of the coffin, and of the sentence of death under which all are born, and urges that remembering death makes for sober, godly living.

16. Daniel 8, Rome and the Coming ChristNo. 185 · 1 December 1887 · 22 min read aloud · Read: Acts 8, Daniel 8

    Beginning from Philip preaching Jesus to the eunuch out of Isaiah, the exhortation takes the eighth chapter of Daniel and shows its connection with Christ: the ram, the he-goat and the little horn are explained as Persia, Greece and Rome, and Rome is said to complete the prophecy by standing up against the Prince of Princes at Christ’s coming.

17. Overcoming as Christ Did: Crucifying the Old ManNo. 252 · 1 April 1894 · 20 min read aloud

    Starting from the wonder that Christ is remembered every week, the speaker turns to the chapter read, which shows Jesus in Gethsemane submitting the Father’s will over his own.

18. Christ’s Rest for the Weary and ForgivenNo. 256 · 1 August 1894 · 23 min read aloud

    Beginning with the breaking of bread, the speaker says the ordinance keeps Christ in remembrance and shows, in his death, the condemnation of sin and the majesty of God.

19. The Meaning of Christ’s Death Against SubstitutionNo. 258 · 1 October 1894 · 23 min read aloud

    Beginning from the risen Christ’s interest in the disciples on the Emmaus road and in the breaking of bread, the speaker explains why sin brought death and why God chose a middle way, enforcing the law while offering mercy to the repentant.

20. Remembering the Living Christ PersonallyNo. 307 · 1 June 1899 · 18 min read aloud · Read: Revelation 13, Revelation 14 F. W. P.

    The exhortation contrasts the world’s gatherings with the remembrance of Christ at the table and urges each believer to dwell on Christ as a living person with whom he will deal individually.

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